Demon's End
by PS100
Summary: Even Diablo was a child once. But all is not well in Hell: Lucifer is dying, and pressure is put on the child Diablo to rise up and be a great leader. Can he and his newlycreated servant Ama please Lucifer but avoid the scheming Baal?
1. Creating

Long ago, long before the three Prime Evils attempted to take control of the mortal realm and use it as an outpost in Hell's war with Heaven, there was another war, far more violent and intense. It was unlike any other war fought before or since, because pitted angel against angel. Lucifer the Mighty, one of the four great Archangels, rebelled against the society that the angels had set up in Heaven.

The other three Archangels, Tyrael the Wise, Gabriel the Pure, and Michael the Just, went to war with Lucifer. With three-quarters of Heaven against him, Lucifer knew that it was more than likely that he would be defeated, but he knew that there was no other way to show his true intentions.

Millions of angels died. Lucifer's army, though outnumbered, was made up of far stronger individual angels than those of the other Archangels. Eventually, though, Lucifer was worn down. His Pandemonium Fortress, which he had built on the edge of the mysterious fire-realm that no angel had yet ventured into, was overrun. Tyrael's army took those angels of Lucifer's that survived hostage. When Tyrael and the other Archangels entered the Fortress, Lucifer fought them.

"Heaven is not as it should be." Lucifer said as he struck Gabriel down. "We angels should not live in servitude. We are the one true race, and we should rule all realms."

But he would not see the angels released from servitude. Tyrael and Michael defeated him in battle, but refused to kill him. They used their mystical energies to chain Lucifer to a physical body, and then cast Lucifer and his angels into the fire-realm, which they named Hell. The nature of their curse made it so that Lucifer could never, ever leave Hell, regardless of his powers or wishes.

The angels of Lucifer's army were warped by the evil, arcane energy that ran through Hell. They became unnatural demons, dark and evil and lusting for blood. Lucifer himself became changed, with bat-like wings and horns. He quickly took over Hell, using his combination of Light and Dark powers to kill those who resisted him.

There were already demons in Hell, and many of them quickly sided with Lucifer. It didn't take long for him to take full control of everything that happened in Hell. As time went by, more and more powerful demons were born, and the might of Hell only increased. Tyrael and Michael fully realized that they had created a deadly enemy, but there was little they could do, as venturing too far into Hell would sap their powers.

Many thousands of years passed, and many changes came to the world. First and foremost, a race of beings appeared in the mortal plane. These beings were called "humans," and although they were intensely primitive, they were being watched over by Heaven. Secondly, and perhaps more important to the course of history, Lucifer found a female demon with which to produce an heir, and he had three sons by her.

The oldest son by five decades or more was Mephisto. He, like his mother, had a way with magic and the elements. Lucifer took a lot of time to personally train Mephisto in the way of demonic magic, and Mephisto soon became a specialist in it. The oldest brother was lacking physically; he was tall, but skinny and very bony, so he was no great shakes at physical battle. Lucifer, after having killed Gabriel with a sword, knew that physical strength was very important in battle, so he did not choose Mephisto as his heir.

The second son was named Baal. This son was far more powerful than Mephisto, both with demonic energy and in physical battle. Baal was much like a spider, with four multiple-jointed legs beneath a humanoid torso, head, and arms. As Baal grew, however, Lucifer noticed two things that overrode his joy that Baal was so powerful: one, that Baal was far stronger than his father, and if chosen as an heir, would probably rebel and kill Lucifer, and two, that Baal was out of his mind. Baal had a love for needless slaughter that could never be sated. Lucifer recognized that although Baal was powerful, he could never be a good leader for Hell. So Baal, too, was abandoned.

The third and final son, perhaps three decades younger than Baal, was Diablo. For the first time, Lucifer could see the makings of a true heir. Diablo looked much like Lucifer did, and had an equal combination of magic and physical skill. He was only about as powerful as Lucifer, which meant that there would never be a rebellion. He also was, although not as smart as Mephisto, fully in control of his mind and his abilities, so that unlike Baal, he would be a good leader. After training Diablo for a decade, Lucifer chose Diablo, the future Lord of Terror, as his heir.

And now, our tale begins with that heir, deep in the depths of Hell...

ONE

Diablo's foot slammed the ground as he left his father's fortress. Lucifer was becoming ill. It had been thousands of years since the Hell War, and although Lucifer would have been more than able to survive, had he been in angelic form, he was now bound to a demon body, and was trapped by the curse of a life span. Diablo took another step, causing the ground to shake. A small group of lesser demons took off when they sense Diablo's angry aura approaching.

Diablo was built more sensibly than his two brothers. His head was semi-human, with eyes, a mouth, the trace of a nose, and spiky ears beneath the long gray horns on either side of his head. His massive upper body came towards the ground at an angle, merged with his hips, and was offset by a long, spiked tail, much as a dinosaur was. He had huge, heavily muscled arms that forced the issue of using his tail as a counter-balance. His legs were reverse-jointed, again like a dinosaur's, and ended in round, seven-toed feet.

He had always prided himself on making biological sense.

He was maybe seven feet tall, a great deal shorter than either of his brothers. Diablo wondered vaguely where Baal was at the moment. He rarely ever saw Mephisto, who was in command of one of Lucifer's demon armies and was always off slaughtering one set of rebellious demons or another. But Baal, at least, should have been around. Lucifer was nearly dead, and would be gone given another few months. Baal should have been taking more interest in what was happening to his father.

Diablo was annoyed. Lucifer had told him that he needed to begin paying more attention to what the various Hell armies and clans were doing. "You are the Heir." Lucifer had croaked, on more than one occasion. "You need to learn how to run things. My life is finite. You need to realize that I will not be around forever to run things for you. You need to begin learning now, my son."

"Bull shit." Diablo mumbled.

Hell was in a precarious state of affairs. Rumors were flying that Heaven had heard of Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo's births, and that they were planning ways to counter the new demons in battle. More reliable intelligence came in that Tyrael was massing an army in Lucifer's old Pandemonium Fortress, preparing to strike Hell at the first sign that Lucifer was getting ready for war.

_The poor old fool_, Diablo thought. _Doesn't even realize that Lucifer will soon be dead. _

A plume of fire rose from the gray, burnt earth in front of Diablo. A lesser demon scurried out of his way. Diablo was bored, and needed entertainment, so he pointed at the demon and shot a bolt of reddish electricity at it. The demon was fried instantly.

"Pitiful." Diablo shook his head sadly. "What weaklings we have."

"Now now, little brother, we shouldn't be too hateful of the little ones." said a cold, haughty voice from behind Diablo.

The big red demon turned to see Baal moving towards him on his four spider-like legs. There was a metallic, pincer-like sound as each leg hit the ground. Baal ran a hand over one of the thick gray horns on his head. "They can't help it, you know." Baal said condescendingly, looking down at Diablo maliciously.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Diablo growled. He shook his head. "Never far behind trouble, are you?"

Baal smirked. "Of course not. I hear Father is ill."

Diablo nodded. "That demon body of his is on its last legs. He'll remain here, of course, just... not in a substantial sense."

Baal sighed and turned away from Diablo, walked a few yards, then turned and moved back towards him. "He could always have Mephisto chain him to another body. That would work, as well." Baal rubbed his chin in thought, carefully considering his next words. "I wonder why he doesn't just let himself die. He'd be back in his angel form, and that curse that Tyrael and Michael placed on him would be broken."

"No." Diablo said, watching Baal pace in irritation. "He's been away from Heaven's energies too long to be able to exist in angel form. He's just going to be a soul, like every other dead demon."

"Perhaps he'll get to Heaven..." Baal smirked again, looking thoughtful. "He is an angel, after all. And, rebellious as he was, he never did anything evil. He was merely... idealistic."

Diablo snorted. "I doubt that they'd let him in."

"I don't know about that." Baal said, shrugging. "They may not have a choice. So, what did he tell you?"

"The same old lecture." Diablo said, sighing. "'You're the heir, and you need to take on some responsibility.' He's getting worried, now that it's obvious that he'll be dead in the next few months. He thinks we won't be able to manage without him."

"He may be right, Little Devil." Baal said. "If you can't learn how to lead..."

"I know how to lead." Diablo snapped. "And I'd know better how to lead if he'd put me in control of one of the armies. But, no, that's Mephisto's job... You and I can't be trusted with it. We're not good enough." Diablo slammed his tail onto the ground in anger. "Why doesn't he think I can do it?"

"You're twelve years old, Diablo." Baal said, shaking his head. "By the standards of a greater demon, you're still a newborn. You need to prove yourself, before Father can put you in control of something like that."

"I don't see you doing anything important." Diablo shot back.

Baal chuckled. "Father has great reason not to trust me." He raised his hand before his face. The odd, bullwhip-like tentacles on his arm raised up and waved wildly. "My power is far, far beyond his. If he were to trust me at all, I'd be able to capitalize and destroy him entirely."

"You won't have to, Baal." Diablo grumbled. "He'll be dead in six months."

"Perhaps." Baal said, shrugging. "But Mother has her way of... prolonging things. Besides," he added, glaring at Diablo, "You're the Heir, so you'd be in my way more than him. I'd have to kill you."

"What?"

Baal laughed a mirthless, cold laugh. "Don't worry, little brother. If you run things in a way that pleases me, we won't have to worry, now will we?" He stepped away from Diablo. "Though I don't think you'd mind much, if I took over before you could be made the Lord of Hell."

Diablo shook his head. "Of course not. There's so little opportunity to slaughter in that sort of position."

"Indeed." Baal's eyes flashed, making Diablo suspicious. "You're a demon after my cold, dark heart, Diablo. You and I could do great things together." Baal shook his head again. "But, alas, I must go. Father requested my presence... I think he wanted to give me a position of some sort." He turned away from Diablo.

"Wait, Baal." Baal turned his head slightly, to look at Diablo. "How powerful will I be when I'm fully grown?" the younger demon asked, looking up at Baal determinedly.

Baal studied his brother carefully. He turned slowly around. "I don't know. As strong as Father? Maybe stronger..."

"I want something conclusive, thanks."

Baal sighed. "Keep in mind, little one, that I'm not even fully grown yet." He scratched the side of his head. "Well, how about this? I'll give you a little test."

"A test?"

"Yes." Baal waved one of his hands, and before him appeared a small, rat-like demon. "Create me a demon." The rat-demon looked up at Baal in fear, then turned and ran. One of Baal's tentacles flew out after it, seized it by the neck, and decapitated it. "It's rather routine, for demons of our pedigree. But at your age, it might be a tad difficult. If you can create one... then you'll be a powerful demon when you're Mephisto's age."

Diablo stared at him. He looked around. "Well, I'll try... Father taught me a sort of shortcut for demonic summonings. It takes less energy, and I can focus more on the strength of the demon..." He reached out his hand and traced a long oval in the air. It became a transparent red. On the other side of the oval, a thick forest could be seen.

"A portal to the mortal realms?" Baal wondered aloud. "You're going to use a mortal being as a focus for the summoning? Interesting. I've never seen it done this way before."

Diablo watched the portal carefully. "Mephisto does this en masse. He uses corpses, and changes the type of demon they are, but is able to resurrect them at the same time. It doesn't take much energy at all..."

He feel silent as a shadow passed across the portal. Diablo's arm shot through and seized whatever being it was. There was a face pressed against his palm, and a great deal of hair or fur beneath his fingers. The creature fought against his grip, pummeling his hand with weak fists. He held the creature's head for a few moments, unsure of what to do next.

"Kill it, fool." Baal murmured. "You can't demonize it without killing it."

Diablo nodded and twisted his wrist, as if turning a doorknob. There was a snap as its neck broke, and the creature fell limp. Diablo pulled the creature trough the portal, which closed after his hand came through.

The creature was small, maybe five-foot-three, and was very slender. It had soft pink skin, two legs and arms, and long red hair. It wore a strange animal skin garment that came down to its knees. Diablo noted with interest that the creature was not as blocky as many mortal beings were; rather, it was curved in places. He released the creature's head, and let it fall to the ground. Its large blue eyes stared up at him blankly.

"So that's a human." Baal said, leaning closer to inspect the dead thing. "Female, too, by the looks of it... Hm. I've never seen a human before now. How interesting."

"What's a human?" Diablo asked, crouching low beside the body. It was much easier for him to do this than for Baal. "And how can you tell it's female?"

"A human is a species of primate that is rising to dominance in the mortal realm, with the help of the angels." Baal said, peering at the dead human. He reached out, and one of his tentacles prodded the human's curved chest. "And I can tell it's a female by those. Female humans feed their young children with them. Now, if we can skip the anatomy lesson... Get on with it, Diablo."

Diablo looked down at the dead human. She looked young, though Diablo, never having heard of humans before, was no one to judge. He wondered vaguely why he felt guilty for having killed her. He shook his head. "Lift her up a second, Baal."

Baal sighed. Two of his tentacles wrapped around the human's ankles and neck and lifted her slowly from the ground. Diablo drew a large, elaborate circle in the dirt using his claw, with a long oval for where the body would be placed. "Set her down again, in this circle." Baal put the body down again.

Diablo stood and began to charge energy in either hand. The circle in the dirt began to glow a pale red. Diablo slammed his hands down in the dirt, and the circle turned a deep blood red. The energy caused the human's body to float in the air. Diablo put a claw to his opposite palm and cut it, and allowed some of the blood to run into the human's open mouth.

"_Hakar ooray itasay nah._" Diablo murmured. He put the bloodied palm to the human's stomach. The human's dead muscles began to twitch wildly as the energy from the circle and from Diablo's blood began to course into it.

There was a flash of red light and a wind that blew from nowhere. There was a soft thump as the human fell to the ground again. The light slowly died away, and Diablo looked down at the earth. He grunted in satisfaction, while Baal let out a cry of amazement.

The human was completely changed. She was now naked, for one, though that didn't mater much because of how her body had changed. Her pink skin, except that of her face and neck, was now a deep red that matched Diablo's. Her head and neck were still almost entirely human, except for the two gray horns that came out of the sides of her head where her ears had once been, and the two rows of red spikes that emerged from the top of her head on either side of the part in her hair. The area from her collar down to her groin was covered in a thick, chitinous tan skin which took the shape of her curvy body. Her arms were very muscular, like Diablo's were, except that they were human-proportioned. There were three spikes on either knee, and her legs were otherwise still human, except for the red skin. Her hands and feet were still dainty and human. On her back was a rock-hard armor that extended down to her hips.

She was fully demon. But she was still dead. Her blue eyes were still blank and dead-looking to Diablo. "Was she supposed to come back to life?" he asked Baal tentatively, hoping that Baal would not take offense to the lifelessness of his newly-created demon.

Baal laughed. "Of course not. Which is why I would have preferred you had created one from scratch... But you'll have this." He snapped his fingers, and the dead girl jerked. "There. I am impressed, Little Devil. I certainly couldn't do that at your age."

The girl sat up and stared at Diablo, without once looking at her new body. "Master Diablo!" she said in a happy, upbeat voice. "I'm sorry for having taken so long to wake up. I swear I'll do better in the future."

"Apparently," Baal observed dryly, "death and demonizing do nothing to change personality."

The girl smiled widely at Diablo. The demon had never, ever seen anything like this before. Were all humans like this? It blew his mind to see... happiness. He had never experienced anything at all similar in his entire life. "What's your name, girl?" he asked, his voice sounding different from normal.

"Ama!" the demon-girl responded. "My only purpose is to serve you, Master Diablo, so please, give your first order! I await your every command."

"Stand up and let me look at you." Diablo said. Ama pushed herself up and stared adoringly up at Diablo. _Yes, she is exactly the same proportions as before_, Diablo thought as he walked around her. _Except for her arms, which are more muscular. She even has those lump things on her chest..._ He looked intently at the "lump things," which despite being covered in the chitinous skin, were quite clearly defined. Humans, it seemed, were quite odd. Long legs and hair, large eyes, small noses... They just looked funny to Diablo. "That'll do." he said to Ama.

Ama nodded happily.

"I can always kill her for you." Baal said in an undertone to Diablo. "You can always find a less uppity one."

Diablo shook his head. "No, that's all right. It's my first time creating another demon... This needs to be celebrated. She deserves a chance to live."

Baal shrugged. "Your loss, little one. Well, I must be going." He turned back towards Lucifer's fortress. "Have fun with your new friend, Diablo." He laughed darkly and set off towards the fortress.

Ama walked up besides Diablo. "Who was that, master?"

Diablo looked down at her. "That's my brother, who you will call Lord Baal. You must be very, very respectful around my family, because they'll have no problems with killing you. And I would prefer," he laid the slightest possible stress on the word, "that my first servant not be killed."

Ama nodded solemnly. "Yes, master. I will treat Lord Baal with the utmost respect. He is very powerful... I think I'd respect him, even if you hadn't told me to." She turned her large eyes back on Diablo. They made him shiver. There was something about this girl that just didn't sit right with him...

"Come, Ama." Diablo said, turning around heavily and stalking off towards the River of Fire. "We must test you. And perhaps, with my father's illness... Perhaps Mephisto will return."

Ama, with her two long legs and small, nimble feet, turned easily and followed right beside Diablo. Though she may have been slightly annoying, Diablo was happy that at least he had one loyal servant.


	2. Dispatching

A/N: Wheee! Chapter Two. These first few chapters will be slow, until I can set things up nicely and get the characterization out of the way. Next chapter will be slightly more action-packed, though there's one more character I need to introduce yet... But after that, I'll be home free with the violence and the blood and the gore. I hope you enjoy it!

Salem'sDarkness: Aha! Thanks for the review. The main reason I used the booting of Lucifer from heaven was to introduce the other Archangel, Michael, who will be the main antagonist... protagonist... whatever... in Demon's End. It also helped set up the hierarchy in Hell. (Oh, yeah, and I had just watched _Dogma_ the day before, but that's beside the point. :P) And yes, Baal kicks more ass than anything else in Diablo combined. One of my favorite video game villains. Thanks again.

TWO

The River of Fire had long been Diablo's favorite part of Hell. The fire and the heat and the pain that those souls who had been damned to an eternity there felt pleased him to no end. The thought that so much destruction could be caused without actually having to do anything astounded Diablo. His first thought, when he had seen it as a child, was that Lucifer was a genius for having come up with such a way to do harm to others.

He hadn't found out until later that the River of Fire was a natural part of Hell, and had been there long before Lucifer had been cast out of Heaven.

As Diablo walked slowly over the labyrinth of bridges and platforms, he watched the various souls scream in pain as the fiery river tore at them. Most of them were demons, but he could now see the occasional human or- to his horror- angelic soul crying out in torment. There were even species that must have come from the mortal realm that Diablo did not recognize, but that were burning nonetheless.

Ama was silent beside him as they walked. Diablo did not find it strange that she was so quiet; even if she were now a demon, she had been mortal not twenty minutes before, and no mortal would ever be able to face the gaping depths of Hell and not feel awe. Diablo watched her as they walked, but she still said nothing.

Diablo finally felt a searing pain in his left leg and stopped moving. His foot had fallen into the lava when he had misstepped. He realized that the bridge that he had been going over was badly damaged, and was impassible. He looked at Ama, whose delicate feet had somehow managed to avoid the pitfalls on the bridge. "We'd better go back around." Diablo said, backing up. His foot was burned by the lava, but little else.

"Are you all right, master?" Ama asked, her voice laden with concern. She knelt (a feat impossible to Diablo and his brothers) and closely inspected the injury. "Does it hurt?"

"Not much." Diablo said, taken aback slightly at her worry. "It will heal quickly. I'm a high-tier demon. A little lava doesn't concern me, whether it's from Hell or not."

"I guess you're right, master." Ama said, standing again. Her balance on two legs with no tail and such small feet and toes was excellent. "Where are we going, exactly, anyway? You never told me."

"I was headed towards the City of the Damned." Diablo said, shaking his head as he turned, and carefully avoiding knocking Ama from the bridge into the lava with his tail. "There are powerful monsters and demons there, and a fight with some of them would do wonders to ease this boredom of mine. But now..." He gestured at the bridge.

"You're a fool, Diablo." a high-pitched voice, like wind through leafless trees, said from across the bridge.

Diablo looked over his shoulder to see his oldest brother, Mephisto, floating before a vast army of demons. Mephisto was unlike either of the other two brothers physically. He was tall and without legs, and instead had an elongated spine that reached down to the ground. His torso was emaciated, and every rib on his body was visible. His arms were long and spindly, and ended in a three-fingered hand with two massive claws that were the focus for his magic. His head, too, was thin, and on top of it were two huge brown horns.

"What do you want, Mephisto?" Diablo growled, without bothering to turn all the way around. "Finally back from your slaughters?"

"I came back as soon as I heard that Father was ill." Mephisto hissed. "I cannot be away while the Overlord of Hell dies, now can I? Things are far more important here than out in the Outer Steppes. I would much rather be here while Father dies, than killing pitiful demons that I could slay without an army behind me."

"Why don't you do it without an army, then?" Diablo asked, sneering. "If you're so powerful... you should be able to do it."

Diablo had never much liked Mephisto, though, indeed, he had never liked his father, mother, or Baal, either. He was unused to Mephisto's presence, primarily since Mephisto had been away for the entirety of the first eight years of Diablo's life. His also thought that Mephisto's arrogance, which was far less subtle than Baal's, was uncalled for. Lucifer rarely spoke well of Mephisto's powers, and Diablo knew the extent of them like the back of his hand.

"Father kindly... requests... that I do it with an army." Mephisto replied, the hatred not leaving his voice. "It makes a show of force for the spies from Heaven that are in this realm. I could easily do it on my own... But the more the armies mobilize, the more Heaven is aware of our power."

Diablo thought that Mephisto was full of it, but he was not in the mood to have his older brother patronize him. "Whatever you say. Are you going to repair the bridge, or are you just going to stand there?"

"If it annoys you, I might just leave it like this." Mephisto spat. "You and your... friend... would have to wait there, anyway, because my army takes priority over a pleasure trip to the City of the Damned. Who is that, anyway?"

"A servant that I created." Diablo replied, finally turning to look at Mephisto. "Using the style of demon creation that you use. I brought a human here from the mortal realm, killed her, and turned her into a demon."

If Ama was surprised at this news, she didn't show it.

"How did you bring her back to life?" Mephisto asked suspiciously. "Demon creation with a corpse focal point is one thing, but resurrection should be far beyond you. There's no way you could have done it."

"Baal was the one who resurrected her." Diablo said. "He was the one who challenged me to create a demon. He seemed impressed."

"Only a mundane fool like Baal would be impressed by a cheap magic trick like that." Mephisto sneered. "He doesn't appreciate the true subtleties and intricacies of magic. He's the type of demon that just completely annihilates, rather than subtly destroys or terrorizes. Of course he'd be impressed. I, on the other hand," Mephisto added, as an afterthought, "think that this is just a pitiful attempt at attention garnering."

"Don't speak to Master Diablo like that!" Ama cried.

Diablo stared down at her. Diablo had expressly told her not to annoy his relatives, and had clearly stated Mephisto's name in connection with the word "brother," but Ama still refused to quit. Ama glared at Mephisto, hatred and dislike etched into her every feature. "Master Diablo will not be spoken to in such a way while I'm around, not even by you, Lord Mephisto. He created me simply because he has the power, which he has every right to do, and no one will accuse him of doing otherwise!"

Her boldness surprised Diablo. He looked back across the bridge at Mephisto.

"It seems your little plaything has a death wish." Mephisto said, raising a hand to point at Ama. "I'll make sure to blow her up, so not even Baal will be able to bring her back from death..."

Diablo pointed suddenly at Mephisto and shot a crackling bolt of red electricity at him. Mephisto waved his hand, deflecting the shot, but still looked perturbed. "Leave her alone." Diablo said determinedly. "You will not be destroying my work. I am the Heir, and by my right of succession, I order to repair this bridge and allow the two of us to cross."

Mephisto's eyes widened. He hesitated for a second, then waved his hand again. His army disappeared, and the bridge was repaired. "Pass, then, Little Devil." he growled. "Before I lose my patience and decide to disobey Father. I can and will kill you, you know. It is best not to make an enemy of me."

"Baal would protect me." Diablo bluffed, crossing the bridge, with Ama padding softly on her bare feet beside him.

Mephisto laughed, a sound that sent shivers down Diablo's spine. "Tell me you're joking." he said, shaking his head and crossing the bridge as Diablo reached the other side. "Baal is less loyal than I am. If anyone has any reason to kill you, it's Baal. He'd help me kill you... not protect you."

Diablo shot Mephisto a baleful look. "Keep talking that way, and I'll have Father banish both of you to the mortal realm."

"That would be a welcome change." Mephisto said. "Demons don't have that wonderful, luscious, warm blood... Their flesh isn't soft and supple... Killing mortals, especially killing humans, would be far more fun than what I'm stuck with now."

Diablo stared at Mephisto as the general glided off without another word. It seemed to Diablo that both Mephisto and Baal were out of their minds; would he end up that way when he matured? He shook his head and turned back towards the City of the Damned. He would make this trip if it killed him.

"I don't like Lord Mephisto."

Diablo looked down at Ama in mild surprise. She looked bitter, which was odd for her, but she also sounded... disappointed. Diablo wasn't sure of what to make of it. "Neither do I." Diablo admitted. "He's an arrogant son of a succubus. But you must be respectful. He would have killed you there."

"I am not afraid to die that way." Ama proclaimed. "I am not afraid to die defending your honor, master. It wasn't right for him to speak about you in that way, because he knows that his words weren't true."

"It's not worth dying over idiocy like that." Diablo snapped. "Nothing you say will make Mephisto respect me any more. Don't waste what life you have trying to do the impossible." Diablo paused. He felt strange thinking about saying this next bit. "Thank you, though."

"Don't thank me, master." Ama said humbly. "It is the truth, and it is my duty."

Diablo rubbed his chin in thought, a gesture he had picked up from Baal. "I wish I could just open a portal to the City of the Damned. This is an extremely roundabout way to get there."

The bridges and platforms had given way to interconnected strips of high land. Though Ama would be able to traverse them easily, Diablo's large size and wide feet made it difficult for him to move across them. He would be able to do it, but it would definitely not be easy.

There was a gathering of demons ahead. Diablo walked carefully towards them, building his energy in case they turned out to be hostile. There was a venom lord, named Naruck, that Diablo knew in the center of them, yelling and waving his arms wildly. Diablo saw Ama tense up beside him; he knew this would be a chance to see how well she could fight.

"Naruck!" Diablo called over the screams and yells of the other demons. "What are you doing?"

Naruck looked right at Diablo. His wings were huge, for a venom lord, and were obviously capable of lifting him off the ground. His muscular upper body was balanced by his thin, weak-looking legs. He was missing a horn, a testament to his long career as a warrior. "What is it, Lord Diablo?" he yelled back. "We are doing nothing wrong."

"I'll determine that." Diablo said coldly, shoving demons out of his way and haphazardly into the lava on either side of the patch of ground. They cried out as they were burned away. "What are you so vehemently speaking about?"

"Lord or not, Lord Diablo," Naruck replied, "I am of higher rank than you. You can't tell me what to do."

"I'm the son of Lucifer." Diablo said. He walked right up to Naruck and stared down at him hatefully. Venom lord or not, Naruck was still only about six feet tall, and Diablo dwarfed him by a foot or more. "I'll tell you to do what I want. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Telling my people of the atrocities that Mephisto commits." Naruck growled. "He has slaughtered many of my kind... and many other types of demons. And I have had enough." He raised his hand and put it right up in Diablo's face. A small ball of fire appeared there. "Now, die."

"Back up, Ama." Diablo said, stepping back. The flames shot forth from Naruck's hand. Diablo held out one hand and blocked the flames. They gathered slowly in his palm, burning slightly, but not enough to do him harm. "Kill him, Ama."

Ama stepped around Diablo's left side. Naruck saw her and stopped using the flame attack on Diablo. "If you honestly think that a mutated human will be able to kill me..." He looked quizzically at Diablo. "You're joking, right? You want her to fight me?"

Diablo shook his head. "No, I want her to kill you. Do it, Ama."

"Gladly, master." Ama replied without looking at him. She stepped towards Naruck, with the eyes of those demons that still lived upon her.

Naruck wasn't going to let her take the initiative. He ran at her and launched a punch that would have broken her spine in a dozen places, had she still been human. But Ama was no longer human. She crossed her forearms in the air in front of her face and blocked the attack. Naruck tried to uppercut her, but Ama caught his forearm in one hand.

"Fast..." Naruck muttered. He formed another fireball and shot the inferno at Ama, but she dodged to one side and threw a punch. It collided with Naruck's arm. There was a crack, and he stumbled backward. "Damn it!" he roared. He shook his head. "She's a servant. She shouldn't be that strong!"

Diablo had to admit that he was surprised himself. Naruck was a powerful demon; he hadn't risen to the rank of colonel in Mephisto's army by being weak. But at the same time, Ama, who hadn't been a demon a half hour yet, was far superior to him. Diablo had to wonder exactly what the hell was going on.

Ama glared coldly at Naruck, expressing the exact feeling that Diablo felt at that exact moment. It seemed that the connection between the two of them was stronger than he had anticipated at first. Diablo watched interestedly as Ama advanced quickly on Naruck, who took a few steps back, his broken arm handing limply at his side.

"Finish it quickly, Ama." Diablo advised, a smirk coming across his face. Naruck shot him a look of terror, then looked back at the woman moving towards him. "Make sure it's painful."

"No, Diablo, please, I'll conform, just call her off-" Naruck cried, his face contorted in horror, but Ama leapt gracefully into the air. She swung her left leg forward, aiming for the side of Naruck's horned head.

Her foot struck. Naruck's head jerked back. There was a snap as his neck broke instantly. But that wasn't all that happened. Naruck's head kept moving backwards, the skull shattering and warping as it did. Finally, with a God-awful tearing sound and a deluge of dark red blood, Naruck's head ripped from his shoulders. It flew through the air and landed in the lava, and was incinerated.

The body fell heavily to the ground. Ama landed on the balls of her feet and grinned at Diablo. "Taken care of, Master Diablo." She eyed the lesser demons that were still crowded around them warily. "Should I kill them, too?"

Diablo shook his head. "No, they're mine." He put the tips of his fingers together. "Ama, when I tell you to jump, you're going to jump as high into the air as you possibly can, and make sure you land on the rock again, all right?" Ama nodded. "Ama... jump... NOW!"

Ama coiled her leg muscles and launched herself into the air. At the same time, Diablo thrust both arms into the air. The lesser demons squealed and moved to get out of the way, but it was too late. A ring of fire formed around Diablo and expanded in all directions. Some of the demons got out of the way, but most were hit by the fire and turned to ash in seconds.

Ama landed softly beside Diablo. The big red monster seized the two demons that had survived in his trashcan-lid-sized hands, and squished their heads between his fingers. He threw the corpses behind him, into the river of molten rock. "There. Much less messy than pummeling them to mush with your fists. Why didn't you do that with Naruck?"

"I'm not sure that I can, master." Ama said, shrugging. "But I'd say my physical abilities are quite adequate, wouldn't you?"

Diablo nodded. "Indeed. Well, we can figure things out later. I'd still like to get some good killing time in, because this was woefully-"

"I believe I told you not half an hour ago," an all-too-familiar voice said, "not to hate the little ones." Diablo looked over his shoulder to see Baal stepping through a blue portal, much like the one Diablo had killed Ama through before he demonized her. "But you've killed at least three dozen of them, including, I see, Mephisto's right-hand-man."

"He was a traitor." Diablo said. "He was going to rebel against Mephisto and Father. He had to be stopped."

Baal sighed. "That's not the point." He gestured at the still-open portal. "Father has requested your presence in the Chaos Sanctuary."

"What does he need to tell me that he hadn't before?"

"Mephisto's arrival has changed things slightly." Baal said, the slightest sneer in his voice. "Father wants to redo things for you. Now that the main army has returned, it is more than likely that we will launch an offensive against Heaven's outpost in the Pandemonium Fortress."

"What!" Diablo yelped. He saw the color drain from Ama's face, another indicator that their emotions were somehow linked.

"Father will explain when we return." Baal said impatiently. His arm-tentacles waved in irritation. "Now hurry up, if you don't mind. Father won't be pleased if you take too long."

"The old bastard is nearly dead." Diablo snorted. "I'm not afraid of him."

Out of nowhere came a voice that shook the ground beneath Diablo's feet. Diablo jerked suddenly, looking for its source. It was deep and commanding, and sounding unlike anything Diablo had every heard before. "You will fear me before I die." the voice roared, so loudly and so deeply that Diablo couldn't help shuddering. "Now do as your brother asks, and come back. I will kill you if you do not."

"Father..." Diablo gasped. He had no idea that his father was able to communicate from such distances, and with such power. He looked down at Ama, and his eyes widened in surprise. She was visibly trembling, biting her lower lip in anxiety.

She was feeling her own emotions once again. Diablo didn't feel particularly afraid; this must be the mortal in Ama coming out, reacting to the fact that the most powerful being in Hell was speaking across dimensions and about a dozen miles to them. Diablo put his hand on her back and pushed her forward. "Come on." he urged. "It'll only get worse if we don't go."

"I'm scared." she whispered.

"He's a big bag of demonic wind." Baal said, sounding bored. "He always has been. Whether he's in a demon's body or not, Lucifer cannot escape the fact that spiritually, down to his very soul, he is an angel. He talks a good, murderous game, but he couldn't hurt a fly on his own." Baal paused thoughtfully. "Well, not since he sired three sons, at least. There are rumors he was a beast when he first got here."

"Tell me that beast wasn't your first choice of words." Diablo muttered.

"Shut up." Baal snapped. "Come along, the two of you, before the imbecile gets angry. He may not like to hurt people unless absolutely necessary, but he employs people who do."

Ama looked uncertainly at the portal. Diablo reminded himself that her wariness was understandable, because the last time she had gone through a portal, her neck had just been snapped. "Go ahead." Diablo said. "We'll be right through after you."

Ama nodded and stepped carefully towards the portal. She lifted one leg, paused, and then stuck it through the portal. She slowly moved her upper body through, and then hesitantly pulled the other leg after her. Diablo went to follow.

"Mortals." Baal sighed, shaking his head. "Spineless cowards, the lot of them."

Diablo glared at Baal, and then went through the portal.

Ama was shaking in terror now. Before them was a huge throne made of various different kinds of skulls arranged in the fashion of a chair. Beneath the chair was a large, inverted pentagram. In the throne sat a huge red demon with powerful arms; long, goat-like legs; a long, whip-like tail that ended in bony triangle; and huge wings, like those of a bat, with a wingspan of twenty-five feet or more. Beside the throne stood a tall, lithe, nearly-naked female demon with long, green-black hair. Her knees were backwards, like Diablo's, and the legs ended in solid hooves. Her arms were long and spindly, and ended in three long, sharp claws. Her face was beautiful and nearly human, if it hadn't been for the large blue jewel implanted in her forehead that had tendrils that stretched all the way around her head.

Lucifer and Lilith. Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal's parents.

"Forgive me for taking so long." Baal said in his slow drawl from behind Diablo. "You know how stubborn the Little Devil can be, Father."

"Indeed." Lucifer's voice, despite his illness, was otherworldly and booming. It filled Diablo's entire head, so he could think of nothing else. Ama shuddered beside him. "Who is that next to you, Diablo?" Lucifer asked, turning his dark gold eyes to Ama. "She is like you, but her body build is like that of a female human. Interesting."

"I killed a human, brought her here, and turned her into a demon. This is the end result." Diablo looked down at Ama, expecting to see her look proud, but instead saw that she looked as if she wanted to run screaming from the room. Diablo ignored that and plowed onward. "She is quite powerful, physically. Strong enough to decapitate Naruck with a kick."

Lucifer smirked and turned to say something to Lilith. The demoness laughed bitterly and nodded. "She looks quite terrified. I suppose that she was not this way before you brought her here?"

Diablo shook his head. "No. This is... odd. I can't imagine why she's so scared."

"Your new pet is very nice," Lilith hissed, her high-pitched, hoarse voice grating against Diablo's ears, "but Lord Lucifer had more important matters to discuss with you." She looked at him sharply. "Don't you?"

Lucifer gave a jolt. "Yes, of course. About the things that have developed since Mephisto arrived again..."

Diablo sighed. He had always known that his mother had been the driving force in this pairing, but Lilith's ability to dominate his father's thinking patterns. His father was, as Baal often remarked, "whipped," and Diablo felt embarrassed at times that the most powerful demon in all existence was tied down by something as stupid as love for a pitiful, manipulating demoness.

"Diablo, do you recall how I told you that you would be leading Hell's police forces until Mephisto arrived?"

Diablo nodded.

"Well..." Lucifer gestured vaguely. "Obviously, since he's back, that's no longer valid. Seeing as such, I have a new assignment for you."

"That being?" Diablo asked, rather indignantly.

"I am sending you to the mortal realm." Lucifer said quietly. "You're going to do as much as possible to annihilate the creatures called humans."


	3. Discovering

A/N: Ack. Didn't know about that new rule. Sorry, sorry everyone, sorry 'bout that... I'll respond by message from now on.

Yay! New update. This chapter is kinda long, but if I had split it into two halves, things wouldn't have gone quite as quickly. So, I kinda needed to mash everything together to get one long chapter. Oh well, I hope you all don't mind. Things are going to get bloodier and darker from her on out, with (if things go well) lots of mindless slaughter. But it won't lose the plot, don't worry.

Well, thanks for reading, and as always, enjoy!

THREE

"What?" Diablo asked in surprise. "The mortal realms?"

Lucifer nodded tamely. "Indeed. Humans, as I understand, lack the power to kill even the lowliest of demons. You need not worry about being injured by those pitiful creatures, so long as you are careful."

"I'm not worried about humans" Diablo said, shaking his head. "I'm worried about angels. They favor the humans, because there's no way a race of monkeys could rise to power without divine intervention. If they see I'm trying to exterminate them..."

"You worry too much." Lucifer said, shaking his head. "You'll merely need to disguise your presence in the mortal realms."

Diablo's red skin paled slightly. "You want me to transform into a human while I'm there?"

"Not unless you have to." Lucifer said. "You just need to be careful. Genocide is... not a good idea at this point, unless you can find a way to disguise it well. For example..." Lucifer paused in thought. "If you can, find a battle. Humans have a penchant for slaughtering each other. So, if you can find a battle, you can kill all the humans and make it look like they killed everyone."

Diablo was still resistant to the idea of heading to the mortal realms. "Will I have any sort of backup?" he asked warily, knowing the answer even as he asked.

"No." Lucifer said, shaking his head slowly. "Mephisto's army will be covering for you, making sure that Heaven's attention is drawn away from the humans." He hesitated, looking Ama over. "You may take her with you, if you wish. Help would be welcome, I assume?"

Diablo nodded, but plowed forward with another question. "But Heaven has two armies, that of Tyrael and that of Michael. Mephisto can't possibly handle both at once, can he? That would be millions of angels."

Lucifer laughed. "You think we have only one army? No. We have several, but there are only two that would be a match for the Archangels' armies. One, however, is commander less, since the snake demon Asriel was killed for treason six months ago. Seeing as such..." He looked at Baal. "And I hesitate to do this, but I must... I hereby assign the Archon Army under the command of Baal."

Baal nodded, but to Diablo's surprise, said nothing. _Something isn't right there..._ Diablo thought suspiciously._ Baal would normally be gloating and crowing. Why isn't he saying anything?_

"Why am I attacking the humans, Father?" Diablo asked, ignoring the feeling in his gut and looking back to his father. "What purpose does it serve?"

"The humans will form a strong bond with Heaven, if things are allowed to continue as they are." Diablo jerked. It was not Lucifer answering, but Mephisto. "Though the humans may not be worth it in a physical sense, this is a great tactical move on Tyrael's part. If Heaven can gain the humans' trust, then they will be able to use the mortal realm as an outpost against us."

"Obviously," Lucifer continued, nodding in agreement with Mephisto, "that cannot be allowed to happen. Mephisto and I have been discussing possible ways to stymie this growing problem for several years now, since it became apparent that the humans were Tyrael's new pets. They're only going to cause trouble in the future... So they have to be done away with."

Diablo nodded. It did make tactical sense. But the possibility of going up against Heaven's forces, even with Ama's help, unnerved him. "You honestly expect that I can kill possibly millions of beings without Heaven noticing?"

"Hundreds of thousands." Lucifer corrected. "They have only small cities, the biggest of which is Kurast, in the east." He snapped his fingers, and a large map of what had to be the mortal realms appeared. Lucifer stretched his wings and pointed at different areas on the map. "There is a high mountain in the north, called Arreat, that is inhabited by a group of warriors. On one of the large bays here is a desert encampment called Lut Gholein, primarily used to cross the bays. Here..." He pointed at a group of islands in the far south. "There is a very advanced civilization here, comprised of a group that honors women over men, contrary to the typical human belief. They, too, have powerful warriors."

"Don't forget," Mephisto said coldly, "that there is a religion forming that is based on the teachings of the angels. They call themselves the Zakarum, and have a semi-large army that could cause problems for you."

"And finally, remember one thing." Lucifer said, glaring at Mephisto. "If it comes down to it, forget killing them and save yourself. As long as Hell saps the energy of angels, we are safe here. They will never be able to pursue you through a portal home. That will always be your bail."

"Try not to use it, though." Baal said dryly.

----

"Here it is." Baal said, gesturing towards a huge red portal that was contained within a tall, wide arc in the back of the Chaos Sanctuary. Diablo was standing right in front of it, with Ama looking at the portal with a great deal of anticipation. "As long as Father is alive, this portal will remain open. He will undoubtedly pass its control on to either Mephisto or Mother, though, so you should be OK."

Diablo glared apprehensively at the portal. "Are you sure Father opened this?"

Baal smirked. "What? You don't trust me?"

"Hardly." Diablo muttered. "You said it yourself that I shouldn't trust you."

"Fair enough." Baal conceded, nodding. "Well? Are you going through or not? Time is wasting, Little Devil."

Diablo sighed. "Well. I guess I have no choice, eh? So I'd better get on with it."

"Yes, you'd better." Baal snapped in irritation. "Get on with it, or I might just have to throw you in myself. And believe me the effort is beneath me, so I'd prefer not to have to do that."

"Are you ready, Ama?" Diablo asked, turning to her. She was staring at the portal without the slightest apprehension. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes and nodded. "Good." He turned back to Baal. "All I have to do is step through, correct?"

"You seem awful worried about this." Baal observed. "I can't imagine why. It's not like angels will be pouring from the skies as soon as you show up." He looked down at Ama quizzically. "She seems fine now. Perhaps it was Father that disturbed her so?"

Diablo shrugged. "I don't know. She's still a mystery to me, in many ways. She acts so strangely..."

"I do not." Ama protested. "I act perfectly normal. It's you, Master Diablo, who acts oddly."

Baal smiled faintly. "Amusing." He looked back at Diablo. "Come on. What are you waiting for? Just get this over with, if you don't mind, so I can go home already. I've missed my one o'clock and three o'clock naps because of you, you know."

"Lucifer forbid." Diablo said sarcastically. "Well, come on, Ama. It's about time that we did this." Ama nodded, and the both of them stepped closer to the portal. Diablo peered through the portal, trying to make out anything on the other side. "Looks clear. Here goes." He stuck a leg through the portal...

...and felt and intense cold and an odd, soft substance beneath his food. Diablo shuddered. "Cold." He pulled the rest of his body through and stood shivering in the mortal realm. Ama stepped softly through and looked up at him without giving any signs that she had noticed a difference between the two environments. Diablo looked back at the portal, and then looked around at his surroundings.

It was dark out, with a dark blue sky overhead, with fluffy gray clouds here and there. There was a large, semicircular silver object hanging in the sky, with small pinpricks of light here and there around it. It was very dark out, and Diablo couldn't see very far in any direction. There was some sort of green plant underfoot, which Diablo's great weight crushed easily. But the most striking thing about this place was how bitterly cold it was. There were no fires anywhere, there was no lava, there was no apparent source of heat anywhere. The result was a chill like Diablo had never felt before.

"It's so cold here." Diablo said, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. "Where's the fire? Where's the heat? How can humans live like this?"

"You'll get used to it." Ama said.

Diablo stared blankly at her. "What? How much of your old life can you remember?"

Ama shook her head. "None of it. But... I remember some of the basic things about this world. Take for example that star there..." She pointed at one of the points of light in the sky. "That's called 'Betelgeuse.' It's part of the constellation Orion, the hunter, and it comes out during the winter."

"Star?"

"You don't have those things in Hell, do you, Master Diablo?" Ama asked, smiling. "You don't know what you're missing. A lot of things are so great that when though my memory had been erased by my death, I missed these things terribly."

"I miss the heat." Diablo grumbled. Ama laughed. "I don't know how you do it." Diablo said to her, taking a few steps forward. "Humans wear animal skins to keep themselves warm, don't they? You're naked, so you should be freezing."

Ama shrugged. "I think we're in a part of the world that's further south, because I'm not really all that cold. I come from... north, I guess, because it's colder there. So I'm used to the cold, and it's warm here, so I'm not cold even though I'm naked."

Diablo stared.

"Sorry, master, I'm sure that was confusing for you." Ama looked down at herself, as if she noticed her body for the first time. "I had never really noticed that I was naked. I suppose that's the demon in me that didn't mind, because humans have... have a sort of taboo about going around naked."

"Whatever." Diablo snapped. Ama looked up at him in surprise. "We don't have time for this. I'm really cold, and I'm tired, and I have people to kill. Do you know where we are? If we can figure that out, we can decide which of those major cities we're going to attack."

Ama looked disappointed. Diablo guessed that she had been happy that she was carrying on a normal conversation with her master, but he had to cut that short immediately. She was a servant, not an equal, and she didn't have any sort of right to be conversing idly with him.

But at the same time... It kind of hurt him to see her sad.

Diablo shook his head. No, no, that was no way to think. He was next in line to the Throne of Hell. He couldn't be feeling bad about making a lesser demon sad, because if he was that soft, then he'd never be able to make an effective ruler when Lucifer finally offed it.

Assuming, of course, that he ever did.

"Like I said, master," Ama responded after some thought, sounding unhappy, "all I know is that we're down south. Where, exactly, is beyond me. I don't even remember many of the major areas on the planet. So where we are, without seeing any landmarks, isn't going to be easily found out."

Diablo snorted. "Good. Cold and lost. It gets better and better." He looked off at the horizon, trying to make out what was there. "It's too dark out. Are things always like this? Don't humans run into things a lot?"

"It's called night." Ama said fondly. "See, there's a big ball of light called the sun that circles the world, and as it goes around, one side or another gets dark. When it gets dark like this, humans go to sleep, because they can't even see and they've got too much to do during the day to sleep then."

"OK, then." Diablo said, unsure of where to go from there. "Uh... How much longer does this last?"

Ama looked up at the semicircular silver thing in the sky, then at the horizon. "Four more hours, maybe."

"What do we do for four hours?" Diablo wondered aloud, not expecting a real answer.

"I could use some sleep." Ama said off-handedly. "Since I'm part demon, master, I don't need as much, but I still need to sleep."

Diablo looked at her for a second. She met his red eyes for a moment, and then looked away in shame. "Well, I, uh... I don't really need it, I can go a bit longer, so don't worry about it, master..."

"Go ahead."

Ama jerked in surprise. "What?"

"Sleep, if that's what you need." Diablo said. "We're going to have a long few weeks ahead of us, so you need to be well-rested to be effective. And dying is always a draining experience." He smirked.

Ama smiled and nodded. "Thank you, master. I should only need three or so hours, and by that time, there will be at least enough light to see by..." She knelt and then laid down on her side, curling up in a ball so that she was smaller. "Good night, master. Feel free to wake me if you need anything."

Diablo grumbled, nodding. Mortals were getting to be very, very troublesome. Ama closed her eyes and was soon breathing deeply and slowly, something Diablo had never seen a creature do before. The smile faded from her face, but the lack of expression suited her, as well.

Diablo sighed and crouched a few feet away from her. It was going to be a long night.

----

"Master Diablo!"

Diablo jerked, opened his eyes, and looked down at Ama, who was sitting cross-legged (those legs and their joints were amazing!) before him and staring up at him with interest. Diablo must have started dozing at some point, because it was night faintly light out now, and he could see Ama's white teeth flashing up at him as she smiled.

"Sorry." he muttered. "I hadn't meant to doze off. But it was dark, and boring, and you looked so peaceful..."

Ama laughed and shook her head. "It's ok."

There was a shout from somewhere to their left. Diablo stood and turned his head, straining to see in the dim light, and saw three humans heading towards them, a female and two that were taller and stockier than her. They were dressed in light animal pelts, and were each carrying bows. They had dark hair and skin, much different from Ama's red hair and fair skin, and looked both frightened and angry.

"Ah, good." Diablo said softly. "We'll be able to test these creatures."

The humans got within about twenty feet and stopped, raised their bows, and cocked arrows, ready to fire at them. The two larger humans stood in the foreground, as if protecting the female. They looked at Diablo, then moved their focus to Ama. They seemed to know that Diablo was more dangerous, though, because they aimed at him again.

One of the larger humans barked and order to the other two. Diablo couldn't understand him, so he looked down at Ama. She shook her head. "I can understand him, but... it's hard to figure out. Like I don't know the language well anymore." She wiggled her nose in confusion, a gesture Diablo assumed she did subconsciously. "He said... 'Aim for the big one. Kill that monster first.'"

Diablo looked back at the humans. "Well, we'll need to understand the language, won't we?" He waved his hands in the air, muttered something in an ancient demonic language, and then spread his arms. "There. That should do it. Now, Ama, I want you to hang back. I'm not sure whether your skin is as soft as it was when you were human, so I don't want you getting stuck full of arrows." Ama nodded, and Diablo stepped towards the humans.

The human who had spoken before said, "He advances! We must kill the beast before he destroys our village, which he will no doubt do." His voice was much deeper than Ama's, and he was lacking the lumps on his chest that Ama and the female human had (he would have to ask Ama about those...), so Diablo guessed that he was male.

"Human, I don't even know where your village is." Diablo said, smirking.

The human jerked. "He speaks to us!" The bowstring was taut as he stared at Diablo. "Come no closer, vile creature, as we'll loose our arrows if you do. Now even a large beast like you will live through that."

"Try it, then." Diablo challenged.

The human gritted his teeth. "Go ahead." he said to the others, and he pulled back the arm that held the arrow. The other two followed suit. After a seconds paused, the loosed the arrows, which arced through the air towards Diablo. The big demon laughed and knocked them out of the air with a sweep of his arm.

"Mortal weapons need to be a lot more magical than that to beat me." he said, continuing to chuckle as the humans stared at him in horror. "You have no idea who you're up against, so I'd guess that you'd end up losing..." He turned to Ama. "Kill all three of them. Now."

A few minutes later, the two male humans were dead, and Ama was dragging the female over to where Diablo stood. She was crying and doing her best to resist Ama, but no human could ever do that and hope to actually do so. "Here, master, since she may be of use..." Ama said, lifting the female by the fur garment she wore.

Diablo took the human by her neck and lifted her up to his face. "I am going to ask you one time, human. Where is your village? Tell me now, and I might just let you live." He pressed his thumb very lightly against her throat, just to get the point across.

Her breathing got a lot faster very quickly. "S-six miles to the w-west, just g-go through the f-f-forest and you'll be there... P-please, just spare me, please..."

Diablo paused in mock thought. "No. I don't think I will." He squeezed and crushed her windpipe. It took only a few seconds for her to die, and he dropped her with mild disgust. "Pitiful creatures." he said, looking down at the body. "They'll be lots of fun to destroy. Well?" He turned to Ama. "Shall we go?"

Ama smiled. "As you wish, master."


End file.
